It is one of the biggest industries in the world but also the quietest.
Prostitution is a successful global enterprise. While I do not aspire to be a prostitute, I have an open-minded attitude about it. I view prostitution as a business with no morals or religion attached, but most people do not view this subject so liberally, especially in America.
As soon as girls plunge into adolescence, seventh or eighth grade science teachers, however reluctantly, must barrage them with PowerPoint slides depicting gross symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases, and some teachers even tell the age-old tale of the so-called “Village Bicycle,” which is really just another way of calling a girl
a slut.
We are all fed ideas that reinforce the U.S.’s uptight, yet glorified, attitude toward sex. This attitude is detrimental because it prevents prostitution from getting the attention and regulation it deserves. It is ignored because it is a touchy subject, but touchy subjects should be topics of discussion if we expect to change them.
While prostitution obviously isn’t the fate of everyone who chooses to engage in pre-marital sex, some women choose full-time careers in the sex industry. Despite the fact that prostitution is illegal in the U.S., excluding some parts of Nevada, there are one million prostitutes in the U.S. alone.
A good idea would be to attack this problem with a new approach. The illegality of prostitution causes people to ignore it and not do anything about it. It is generally perceived that if an act is illegal, then no one must be doing it.
But that is rarely the case. Perhaps if prostitution becomes legal, people will not turn away from the issue. Workers in the sex industry can finally get help and necessary regulation, rather than being arrested and deprived of their only means of income. If we implement regulation and security, we can provide a safe workplace and protection for the
sex workers who choose this as
their profession.
There are places outside of this country where prostitution is legal and regulated. The government of Zurich, Switzerland, for instance, has made remarkable strides in improving the regulation of prostitution by implementing so-called “sex drive-ins.”
A sex drive-in probably sounds like a place where a lady of the night arrives to your car with a burger and fries on roller skates. But in reality, a sex drive-in is like a small parking garage. Customers pull into a designated parking spot, a prostitute meets them, and they take care of business in complete privacy. These sex drive-ins are accessible only by car and 30 to 40 sex workers are available each night. For five Swiss Francs, about $6, the sex worker rents out the space for the night and the customer and the prostitute negotiate a price for the service.
What sets these drive-ins apart from illegal brothels is the heavy security. The security is essential because it protects the workers and the customers, making the encounters more safe and discreet for everyone. Not only do the prostitutes work in a safer environment, but they also have more services accessible to them. Sex drive-ins are equipped with washing machines, showers, bathrooms and a kitchen that the workers can use when they are staying at the facility. In addition to required STD testing, gynecologists give the women weekly checkups and Zurich’s social services department provides self-defense classes in case the women ever fall into a dangerous situation. Prostitutes have access to social workers, and the advice center offers counseling and can even help sex workers start new lives and careers if they choose to leave the sex industry.
Other European cities, such as Utrecht in The Netherlands and Essen in Germany, have found great success with this paid sex system. In fact, Utrecht has been using sex drive-ins to keep prostitution regulated since 1986. Before the drive-ins, the prostitution scene in Zurich was a great disturbance in the city. Sex acts were often performed in public, causing prostitutes and even innocent bystanders to be exposed to harassment and danger. The goal of the sex drive-ins is to keep prostitution out of the city and to ensure the safety of the
sex workers.
I feel that this is the most pragmatic solution for regulating prostitution in any city. Prostitution is just a business, and in order to change the way prostitution is regarded in the U.S., we must treat it like a business. Any legitimate business has tax-paying workers, which is exactly what Swiss prostitutes are. They cannot be reprimanded for being prostitutes simply because it is their full-time job.
Businesses are organizations that enforce order and guidelines to ensure a safe and friendly working environment. These sex drive-ins can be the catalyst that brings the proper regulation that we need. The benefits that Zurich’s sex drive-ins offer, like safety, order and better living conditions, are clear, and it is undeniable that these drive-ins can benefit our community as well. We can truly change and protect the lives of all women — all we need to do is pull in to a new state of mind.
